1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, and in particular to an information processing apparatus that photographs a photographic object and has the ability to record it as a picture image as well as reproduce the recorded picture image.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional electronic cameras can, for example, reproduce a photographed image (hereafter abbreviated as photo-image). Typically, the photo-images are displayed in the order that they were photographed.
However, with this type of reproduction method, since the order that the photo-images can be reproduced is fixed, there is the problem that it is impossible to select and reproduce photo-images at one's own discretion. Therefore, when reproducing a photo-image, the photo-image is reduced by a prescribed ratio thereby creating a reduced image (hereafter referred to as a thumbnail image). A plurality of thumbnail images can then be displayed in a list format on the screen. Further, by allowing the user to select from the thumbnail images according to the desire of the user, the reproducing of photo-images at one's discretion can be achieved.
However, since photo-images are formed of a plurality of pixel data, various processes are required to create a thumbnail image from a photo-image. Accordingly, there is the problem that a large amount of time is required in order to create each thumbnail image.
Therefore, for example, a thumbnail image can be generated each time photography is performed, and by storing each thumbnail image in memory, the trouble of repeatedly generating the thumbnail image can be avoided. However, with this type of method, since a portion of memory that stores the photo-image is occupied by the thumbnail image, there is the problem that the number of photo-images that can be recorded are limited.
In addition, the following problem can occur when attempting to generate a thumbnail image upon each occurrence of photography even with sufficient memory. With the so-called successive photo mode, in which a series of photo-images are successively taken, it is desirable to have the most number of photos taken within a given time period. However, if a thumbnail image was generated upon the imaging of each frame (i.e., each photo-image) of photography, the speed of successive photography would decrease, thereby creating a problem.
In addition, even if a thumbnail image is generated upon each frame of photography without limiting successive photography, the response of the device to the operation of the user will be slow.